How Would Christie's School Funding Plan Impact Howell Taxpayers?

With reporting by Jason Koestenblatt (Patch Staff)

Toms River, NJ -- Governor Chris Christie made waves Tuesday when he unveiled a proposed funding formula change for New Jersey’s schools that would equalize spending for each student in the state.

In doing so, Christie said, it would mean potentially lower property tax bills for residents in high-cost areas, but it also would be an enormous funding loss in poorer, urban areas known as Abbott districts.

Christie’s plan would equalize spending to a level of $6,599 per student in the state. That figure came from the $9.1 billion spent by the state this year divided by each enrolled student in grades kindergarten through 12.

In a statement released by the governor’s office Tuesday, blame was laid on the state’s “Abbott” districts – 31 school districts in court-classified “poorer urban” areas – for taking up so much of the state’s taxpayer money and funding aid.

See related: Christie Unveils New School Funding Plan; NJEA Calls It ‘Despicable’

The New Jersey Education Association assailed Christie’s plan, calling it despicable and claiming it would set the state’s education progress back decades.

But what would the governor’s plan, if implemented, mean to each individual school district in the state?

According to nj.com, which compiled a list of data showing the current per-pupil aid by district versus what that figure would be under Christie’s plan, the Howell district would receive a 17 percent increase in aid, while Farmingdale would see a 39 percent increase.

The Freehold Regional High School District -- which covers students in Farmingdale, Howell, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Colts Neck, Marlboro, Manalapan, and Englishtown -- would receive a 38 percent increase in funding under the plan.

Howell received $5,554.12 in aid per pupil for the 2015-16 school year. If Christie's plan goes through, the increase for Howell schools would be $945.88 per student -- amounting to roughly $5.6 million for the district's 5,970 students. Farmingdale received $4,672.20 per student for 2015-16, and would see an additional $1,827.80 per student, or about $307,000 more for its roughly 170 students.

The Freehold Regional district, which received $4,697.89 per student in 2015-16, would receive an added $1,802.11 per student, about $19.8 million for its nearly 11,000 students, if Christie's plan goes through.

During his monthly "Ask The Governor" radio appearance on NJ1015 (101.5 FM), Christie said his plan would be phased in over three years. He called the potential change in property tax payments for New Jersey residents “revolutionary,” and that changing the school funding formula was the single-most effective way to change property tax problem in the state.

Christie's office, on a new website called The Fairness Formula that was launched to promote the plan, estimates the average property tax savings in Howell would be $442, while in Farmingdale the average property tax savings would be $650.

A look at the data shows students in the Abbott districts stand to lose millions under the proposed plan. Camden would see a $23,634.77 loss per student, followed by Asbury Park, where funding would decrease $22,384.78 for each pupil.

See nj.com's full list of state districts here.

(Image via Shutterstock)